There's a new Bob Dylan box set on the market, but chances are you won't be able to find it. That's because Dylan's label, Sony Music, has released just 100 copies of the four-CD set, as part of an attempt to circumvent European copyright law.
Dylan's 50th Anniversary Collection box set includes 86 unreleased tracks, including studio outtakes and live recordings from between 1962 and 1963. As Rolling Stone reports, these songs were slated to enter the European public domain this year, but they'll now remain under copyright thanks to a unique provision in the EU's copyright laws. In 2011, the EU extended its copyright term from 50 to 70 years, but this change won't go into effect until 2014. This extension, moreover, only applies to works that have been published during the 50 years after their release, which is why Sony decided to rush this collection to market around Christmas — just before the tracks' 50-year window was about to expire.
This so-called "use it or lose it" provision is at the core of Sony's strategy, and the label has made no secret of it; the box set's subtitle, The Copyright Extension Collection, Vol 1, makes this intent more than clear. Thus far, the company has released just 100 physical copies to select stores in France, Germany, Sweden and the United Kingdom, driving up demand in secondary markets such as eBay, where bids have exceeded $1,000. (The collection is available for download from Dylan's site, though only to customers based in France and Germany.)
But sources at Sony Music tell Rolling Stone that the launch "isn't a scheme to make money," adding that the label has plans to use these tracks at a later date. "The whole point of copyrighting this stuff," one source explained, "is that we intend to do something with it at some point in the future."
Comments
I hope it will be available on iTunes soon.
By heyandrej on 01.08.13 11:40am
if folks are looking to spend $1,000 for the collection, then release it wider to make some money from the work. Music execs, not the brightest minds in the box.
By Article19 on 01.08.13 11:42am
I think that has been obvious for a while now.
By minsk on 01.08.13 11:52am
The fact that is rare is what is making this desirable, not exactly the music.
By infinit_zero on 01.08.13 12:25pm
I think Dylan is pretty popular, it’s probably the music.
By Article19 on 01.08.13 1:01pm
It’s the fact that it’s so rare. This will be an incredibly valuable collector’s item down the line.
By Plaid Knight on 01.08.13 2:02pm
Sony continues to make serious moves to maintain both world and regional douche champion titles.
By KnownHuman on 01.08.13 11:44am
Yep, I have nothing but contempt for them these days. They are a dinosaur.
By ref1ux on 01.08.13 11:51am
You don’t copyright something right before it becomes public domain because you aren’t trying to profit off of it.
By mitchartz on 01.08.13 11:44am
This is pitiful. Music copyrights should enjoy the same duration as any other invention; 20 years. What makes music and movies so special that they can be protected like this, while inventions that truly change the way the world works are only protected for 20 years?
By Someguyperson on 01.08.13 11:45am
Lobbyists.
By diamondsw on 01.08.13 11:50am
You’re conflating patents and copyright here.
By catonkatonk on 01.09.13 10:22am
after that publisher wander why new artist po up online directly by themselves instead of via publisher.lol
By drbaltazar on 01.08.13 11:48am
F.U. Sony, you assholes.
By minsk on 01.08.13 11:52am
Nothing wrong with what they’ve done. Why should Bob Dylan watch other people, other companies, profit off of his work, without paying him a cent? Sure he’s made plenty of money over the years, but what about other artists that haven’t achieved the same level of income off of their works?
By atomicsolar on 01.08.13 11:52am
If you haven’t achieved a lot of money in the first 50 years…you’re not going to achieve them in the next 20.
Also, Bob Dylan started out by plagiarizing everyone. So he got where he was BECAUSE of other people before him. And that’s the point of copyrighted works turning into public domain as soon as possible (not after the longest time possible).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1s_PybOuY0
All creative works and ideas come from other creative ideas before them, that were either public works or downright stolen. This is why nobody should own an “exclusivity” on a creative idea, that was inspired by others to begin with, because he never fully owned it. And that’s why copyright is not real property.
http://falkvinge.net/2012/12/30/the-copyright-monopoly-is-a-legal-featherweight-compared-to-property-rights/
By minsk on 01.08.13 11:58am
Bob Dylan talks about “plagiarizing everyone” in the recent Rolling Stone interview. I wonder what he thinks about copyright.
By fullyensconced on 01.08.13 12:23pm
There’s the widely accepted notion/fact that there are only seven truly original stories, which I don’t hold any argument with. I’m also a fan of the Mashup genre, in some cases preferring the results to the original songs…
But public domain does not equal 100% free access – especially whilst physical media is still around. You might be able to download tracks/movies for free once they enter the public domain (I do it as much as anyone else), but others out there will happily put out a product bordering on unacceptable, and charge for it.
By atomicsolar on 01.08.13 12:38pm
The link http://www.bobdylan.com/us/home used from France doesn’t show the album at all…
By fjanon on 01.08.13 11:54am
How short is European copyrights? I’m okay with complaining about letting copyrights get renewed so easily, but Dylan ain’t that old either.
By AGuyOnTheVerge on 01.08.13 12:02pm
It says in the article.
By atye on 01.08.13 1:52pm
You’re right. I need to lrn2read.
I thought 70 was long, but 50 years seems kind of short. Dylan is still alive and all.
By AGuyOnTheVerge on 01.08.13 8:17pm
I think this might be illegal, like changing your residence just so you can pay lower taxes.
By mnemonija on 01.08.13 12:40pm
People often migrate for tax purposes (Monaco is a good example), it is not illegal.
By atye on 01.08.13 1:53pm
Think Ill just fire up utorrent, and download a bunch of Dylan and Sony Music tracks.
Then I shall seed those tracks, and upload them to youtube, just to add some karmic balance
By V900 on 01.08.13 12:48pm